Beniamin Bosko

Beniamin Bosko (13 March 1782-29 January 1814) was a commander of the Polish Legions of the French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. Bosko's legion fought in the Battle of Chalons-en-Champagne in 1814. Bosko was mortally wounded in the battle.

Biography
Beniamin Bosko was born in Gdansk, Poland-Lithuania, but was forced to flee the country when it was overrun by Prussian troops in 1792. Bosko and his family settled in Metz, France, where Bosko enlisted in the Polish Legions in 1800 during the War of the Second Coalition. Bosko rose to the rank of Major after the Battle of Hohenlinden, where he commanded the Polish centre regiment that held off many Austrian attacks.

During the War of the Fourth Coalition in 1806-1807, Bosko was able to liberate his homeland from the army of Prussia, taking part in the Liberation of Warsaw. Bosko was given command of his own legion of Polish troops raised from his hometown, fighting alongside Michel Ney's army in the Patriotic War with the Russian Empire in 1812. In the retreat from Russia his forces performed well in rearguard actions against Russian, Austrian, and Prussian forces, and in Germany he led a regiment of Polish Legion troops under the command of Marshal Jozef Antoni Poniatowski and took over his command after his drowning during the Battle of Leipzig in 1813.

During the Defense of France in 1814, Bosko's legion fought once more, fighting in the Battle of Chalons-en-Champagne on 29 January 1814. The French army won the battle, but Bosko was mortally wounded by a shot to the chest. He died later that day, and was posthumously promoted to Brigadier-General.